


Heart Of Gold Broken

by lasatgirl60



Category: Star Wars: Rebels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-16 02:48:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29075073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lasatgirl60/pseuds/lasatgirl60
Summary: This is a small one-shot story I had printed out from my old laptop that quit on me last spring and decided to put it on the archive.   It takes place after the events of "Jedi Night" and before "Dume".  This is mostly from Zeb's point of view since he's my favorite character from "Rebels".  I love his protective nature towards his family.  I think he hurt just as much as Hera, Ezra, Sabine and Chopper, but was afraid to appear weak...
Comments: 6
Kudos: 5





	Heart Of Gold Broken

Zeb watched his three friends fly away on gliders as quiet as a whisper to rescue Hera. As the images of his three friends...his family, faded into the distance, he swallowed hard. Somehow he knew one of them, or possibly all of them, wouldn't be coming back. That made him want to cry, but he had to remain strong.

His warrior's heart of gold he kept protected by a strong wall of sheer will, had begun to crack earlier when he embraced his friends for possibly the last time. It was hard to say goodbye to the family he had grown to love over the years.

"Promise me, Zeb, you will protect them," Kanan had said to him as they embraced not as comrades...but as brothers.

"I...promise," he had answered.

The crack around the heart of gold...began to deepen...more.

Hours later, after a huge explosion had rocked the capital city on Lothol, Zeb knew that something terrible had happened to his family. Somehow, he knew it was Kanan and he hoped he was wrong. The crack opened even more and when his friends returned he knew something was terribly wrong. One of the family was missing.

Kanan Jarrus

Zeb saw the strickened looks on Hera's, Sabine's and Ezra's faces and he knew that Kanan was dead. His friend and brother was never coming back.

"Promise me, Zeb, you will protect them," came Kanan's last words to him again.

"I promise," he whispered in a voice filled with grief.

He went up to his surviving friends and placed hands on each of their shoulders. Hera's face reflected the degree of loss she felt. Sabine couldn't hide her tears and sobbed quietly. Ezra looked more angry than sad. The young man's eyes held a loss that cut to the core of Zeb's soul. The protective warrior part of him took them into his arms. He, too, wanted to grieve with them, but had to stay strong. He had promised Kanan that he would always protect them. A warrior never breaks a promise.

Through the day, Zeb watched his friends grieve in their own way. Ezra had gone off somewhere to meditate as Jedi often do. Sabine curled up in a corner near the cave entrance and just cried off and on. Hera held onto her kalikori that Kanan had brought back to her, eyes tight with grief and tears, while Chopper stood nearby offering comforting beeps, grieving in his own droid way.

The wall around the heart of gold began to crack...even more.

The next day the four of them gathered inside the cave near an altar of stone that set near the wall paintings of Loth-wolves and Lothol natives. On the altar was placed Kanan's DL-18 blaster, the mask with the jaig eyes that he wore over his blind eyes and the long brown ponytail of hair he had cut off before going to rescue Hera. This was all that remained of their friend, mentor, brother; perhaps one of the greatest Jedi that ever lived.

The crack in the protective wall around the heart of gold...grew ever more larger.

Zeb found it harder to keep the tears inside. He was constantly blinking his large green eyes feeling the need to cry. His throat felt so tight he could hardly speak or swallow.

Ryder Azadi, a good friend and comrade of the GHOST family had suggested earlier to Zeb that a memorial and goodbye should be done for Kanan to help them with their loss. The Lasat had agreed even though he didn't feel worthy of saying anything. He knew he could never find the words to express the grief he was feeling, the brotherly love he had felt for Kanan.

The crack grew a little bigger...

Ryder Azadi had stood off to the side and delivered a heartfelt eulogy for the fallen Jedi who had given the supreme sacrifice for the ones he loved.

Zeb watched as Hera, Ezra and Sabine fell to their knees before the altar, eyes closed as tears streamed down their faces. He kneeled behind them, swallowed hard and enveloped them within the comforting embrace of his big powerful arms pulling them close to his chest. Taking a deep breath, he embrace them with the love of a brother, a protector and a friend. He bowed his head feeling the protective wall around his heart of gold threatening to fall away. He so wanted to cry like the others, but promised to protect them.

A warrior never cries...

As seconds turned to minutes, and minutes turned to nearly an hour, Zeb held his family close to his chest. All of a sudden he felt what seemed like two loving arms envelop him in a hug of comfort. He opened his eyes to see...

Nothing

Ryder had left giving the GHOST family some privacy to grieve their friend's sacrifice.

Zeb closed his eyes still embracing the remaining members of his family when he felt that comforting embrace again.

Deep down he knew who was embracing him.

It was Kanan.

A voice sounded in his mind. The voice of his friend:

"It is all right to grieve, Zeb. You have every right to feel as they feel. Let yourself go, big guy. It's not wrong to...cry."

At that moment, the wall around the heart of gold crumbled to dust. It had become as fragile as glass...cracking...shattering.

Tears began to fall like rain down the cheeks of lavender purple fur leaving darker purple streaks. The Lasat's great chest heaved with the sobs of a breaking heart. He held tighter to Hera. Ezra and Sabine not ashamed to finally cry in front of them. He was hurting just as much as they were.

The Force spirit of Kanan Jarrus, Jedi Knight, enveloped his little family in a hug of the purest love. He whispered words of comfort that only their ears could hear. He smiled seeing Chopper leaning close to Zeb and placing a manipulator arm against the Lasat's trembling back. The little droid was grieving in his own way.

"Goodbye...my friends...my family, the spirit seemed to say, "You will go on...don't ever forget how much I love you."

"Goodbye...Kanan," came four shaky emotion filled voices.

Tears continued to fall like rain...a rain that would eventually be cleansing to the small family of rebels.

Never forget...

Rest In Peace: Kanan Jarrus


End file.
